Minnesota

 Driving to Minnesota two weeks ago, Karl discovered the joy of adding sound to his DVD watching experience in the van.  Bob the Builder is SO much more entertaining when you can hear the theme song, etc.  (He was wary of the headphones before.)

Matt left for WY the next day to hunt antelope with his dad while the kids and I stayed to visit with his mom.  We had done this way back when Clare was only 5 months old and I had been looking forward to doing it again. 

Nora loved having dogs to play with (one a five month old puppy), and she toddled into their space as often as she could. 

 The kids love going to Grandma & Grandpa's in MN.  They don't even mind the 7 hours in the van when their destination is SO much fun.  Clare decided she could like the glider swing. (She wasn't given much choice as Nora had the baby swing and Karl the other).

One evening the kids spent a LONG time marching up and down the driveway playing "parade".  If I have time at some point, I'll post a link to a youtube video of them.  Hilarious.

Nora's a crazy girl, climbing onto everything.

The weather was amazing while we were there - 80s some days and sunny, sunny, sunny.  We took the kids to the Munsinger Gardens to run around and explore.  I attempted a sibling photo, but...

Karl was fascinated by the water running from this pipe.  I could tell he wanted to get in there with a bucket.  He loves moving water around in buckets and dumping it out.

picnic lunch in the gardens

 Nora was so happy toddling along the Mississippi River. 

One day I took Clare out for a special lunch.  She'd been asking for one for a month or so- something special for just her and mom.  It may have been one of my bribes to get her to school without complaining that first day, I can't remember.  Anyway, we made good on that promise.  She chose McDonald's and was thrilled that her Happy Meal came with a Hello Kitty puzzle.  Couldn't have been a better toy for her.

The fun continued at a local park, where the highlight (for Karl) was the fire truck.  So. Much. Fun.  He liked to gather wood chips and throw them out the window as parade candy. 

Taking a break from being so busy...

...and off running again.

Mello little lady.  Can make a toy out of anything.

 

One night we went out to eat at Culver's.  A big highlight for the kids as they don't get to eat out very often.  Can you tell they enjoyed it?

Mmmm, frozen custard.  Nora ate most of hers from a bowl (and did surprisingly well with a spoon) and then started on Karl's cone.

 The fun never ends...

Here's Clare with a loaf of Grandma's bread she "made" herself:

The kids spent several hours one morning playing along the Mississippi River, Matt's backyard when he was growing up.  The rocks behind the kids were placed there when Matt was little.  (No surprise he did well as a civil engineer.)

Nora discovered a VERY cute, kissable baby in the bathroom....

And now that she's one, bring on the desserts!  Oreo cookie stuffing: yum, yum.

Clare had fun building Grandma's puzzles, especially a Pound Puppy one that she was pretty proud to put together all 99 pieces by herself.  She's a very adept puzzle builder. 

Unfortunately, the good times came to an end on Monday as we drove back to MI.  Clare was very sad to leave and kept asking when we'd go back.  "But Christmas is too far awaaaaaay!" and Karl spent the last 30 minutes of our van ride home yelling, "Go back!  Go Grandma, Grandpa's!  Go Grandma, Grandpa's!"  So all in all, a wonderful vacation and a nice break from the ordinary days at home.  Oh, and Matt did get a nice antelope, the excuse for taking this trip in the first place.  :-)